In fact, the jury of eight men and four women entered the courtroom in Greensboro, N.C., and announced that they had only decided one count out of six counts that are to be decided. (Their guilty or not guilty decision on the one count was not announced.)

“The government’s view is it appears they are not finished,” said a member of the prosecution team. Edwards’s defense team countered with a suggestion that the court take the verdict on the single count and declare a mistrial on the rest. The judge sent the jury back to work to continue deliberating.

Edwards, 58, is charged with illegally using nearly $1 million in unreported campaign contributions to hide his pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter, during his 2008 bid for the White House.

At issue in Count 3, the one count decided by the jury, was a donation to Edwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars by banking heiress Rachel Bunny Mellon given in 2008 just before Edwards dropped out of the race. One legal analyst speculated that this could be the easiest count to find Edwards not guilty on because the check wasn’t cashed until after Edwards dropped out of the race.

If convicted, Edwards could face up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines.

“It isn’t just John who is affected by this,” a source tells PEOPLE, naming at least six other people who are suffering from the stress of the trial: his parents and his children, Cate, 30, Emma Claire, 14, Jack, 12, and Quinn, 4, Edwards’s daughter with Hunter.

“Beyond the obvious toll, it is taking a physical toll on John,” adds the source, suggesting too that the former senator’s recent heart troubles were brought on by stress.

• With reporting by WENDY GROSSMAN KANTOR

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